Feminists in Wonderland

Twinkle, twinkle, pussyhat!How I wonder what you’re at!Up above the world you fly,Like a tea tray in the sky.(With apologies to Lewis Carroll)

The Women’s March and the Pussyhat Project—its sea of pink pussy hats tipped to Donald Trump—has reached its first birthday! But wait . . . instead of wearing party hats to a celebration, this weekend’s events were more like the Mad Hatter’s un-birthday: the Feminist Wonderland has begun to unravel.

After only one year, pussyhats are old hat. Along with the founders of the Pussyhat Project, the organizers of the Women’s March are peddling new wares and new reasons for women to come together in “support and solidarity for women’s rights and political resistance.”

What happened to the pussyhats? The question reminds me of when the Mad Hatter riddles “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” and then we, like the March Hare and Alice, are swallowed whole into the confusion that ensues, with no way to rationally answer a nonsensical question.

The riddle we might ask the Pussy Hatters is “Why are the pussyhats ‘all hat and no cattle?’” It’s difficult to imagine how this weekend’s march in Washington, D.C. could have been anything near last year’s spectacle. Besides, how could it possibly be as inclusive if the women aren’t all wearing their matchy-matchy vulva headgear?

Pussy Hatters must have gotten a real bee in their bonnets when they began to contemplate some of last year’s ridicule:As I said a year ago, “it seems they forgot the lesson of the infamously retired ‘flesh’-colored crayon.” And now, though they still assert that their choice of Barbie-pink represents femininity, their skewed sensibilities tell them the color is not very inclusive of female anatomical diversity.

The Women’s March chapter in Pensacola, Florida posted to its Facebook page that “the Pink Pussy Hat is white-focused and Eurocentric in that it assumes that all vaginas are pink.” Madly enough, not only do they worry that their hats might be mistaken to represent only white women’s vulvas, they state that since “not all women have pussies,” they don’t want to appear they are promoting “Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism”: you know, the feminist crime of excluding men who identify as women.

Now hold onto your own hats here, because then they literally instruct that women tuck in those vulvic corners, and wear any kind of hat that doesn’t look like a pussy!

This year’s main event is called “Power to the Polls.” The idea is to “register more women to vote, and to elect women and progressive candidates to office.” A myriad of other progressive themes popped up among the rallies being held across the states, including topics such as reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, immigrant rights, and environmental justice. Sounds like someone should win an un-birthday award! I suggest a pink-frosted treat with a cherry on top.

Trans-Actional PoliticsEven in their zealous attempt to wear many hats, these women have yet to realize they simply cannot hang their hats on their own convictions: though they claim otherwise, they have no intention of becoming inclusive of all women.

Truth would be better served if the name of this movement were changed to “The Leftist Women’s March,” since their supposedly all-inclusive efforts deliberately exclude women who do not adhere to radical feminism or leftist doctrine. Though one lead organizer emphasizes the importance of “the idea of intersectionality . . . which is the belief that all identities within womanhood should be welcomed and fought for,” it would appear that women who object to leftist causes are not allowed to identify as actual women. The marchers showed they are in their own Wonderland, acting more like the March Hare and the Mad Hatter who yell “No room! No room!” when Alice tries to sit at the table. When she thinks she finds a place, they tell her, “it wasn’t very civil of you to sit down without being invited.”

It’s laughable to hear these marchers’ many apologies for their regrettable transgressions of exclusivity when they have absolutely no intention of including all women in those apologies.

“There’s things that you do and you just don’t know they may be wrong and they’re hurting other people,” said Women’s March Michigan President Phoebe Hopps. The delightfully named Jasmine Knitmore, who hosts a knitting podcast, explained that “Just making a hat and sitting at home doesn’t make you a hero, and it certainly doesn’t make you an ally when people say, ‘This makes me feel excluded; this doesn’t represent me,” adding, “We can all do better to be more inclusive of others.” Another marcher, Kay Holt, said: “When we err, even in spite of our best intentions… it’s important that we correct our mistakes and do the best work we can to repair the damage we cause.”

These Pussy Hatters truly are as mad as Alice’s Hatter and the March Hare. Not only have they sown confusion within their own ranks, they haven’t the slightest idea how to resolve any of it. This year we still saw quite a few of the infamous pussyhats; some of those who wore them had them tucked in or knitted in colors other than pink; some women wore different hats entirely. Who can make sense of the gendered politics of head covering? If they don’t figure out a way to put a halt to all this disorientation and the predictable ridicule that comes with it, next year they may need to wear hard-hats.

Marches that Actually Save WomenMeanwhile, another march took place this weekend, a march joyfully celebrating its 45th anniversary, a march with the theme “Love Saves Lives.”

Of course, given the leftist leanings of the media and the miasma of fake news, the March for Life has never received the publicity and media attention that the so-called Women’s March has received in its year-old infancy. While the Pussy Hatters quibble over properly representing the color of one’s vulva, few realize that black women are 3.5 times more likely to have an abortion and that abortion (not racist police) is the largest killer of African-Americans. As they protest the real horrors of sexual violence, do they realize that victims of rape constitute less than one half of 1 percent of all abortions?

In their mission to protect what they allude to as “women’s health,” how many of the women who march for “intersectional equality” warn their pro-choice sisters that abortion increases certain health risks, including breast cancer? Is there any compassionate discussion among them regarding the emotional consequences that many women suffer after their abortions? How many female fetuses lose lives that would actually increase the numbers of registered women voters, women who hold public office, and women who excel in their chosen careers?

When radical feminists ignore or suppress the facts, how can they claim to be fully “pro-women”?

“Really, now that you ask me,” said Alice, very much confused, “I don’t think…”

“Then you shouldn’t talk,” said the Hatter.

And this precisely sums up the radical feminist movement of today: it is not really about “all women.” It is a sorority for left-wing women—and any woman who dares have an opinion other than what these lefties dictate is excluded and silenced.

Despite the pressure to ascribe to this non-inclusive sisterhood of women who hijacked and radicalized feminism, more women should say to them: “Here’s your hat, what’s the hurry?” Perhaps more women will be unimpressed and unmoved by this year’s un-birthday in Feminist Wonderland, will notice how these women are simply talking through their hats, and will help put an end to this madly confusing party of Hatters and March Hares.

Women should walk off in great disgust and, like Alice, vow, “At any rate, I’ll never go there again! … It’s the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!”

Michele has a BA in Philosophy, University of Dallas and did graduate Studies in Art History and Museum Education, College of William and Mary. She is former Arts and Museum Educator and Exhibit Designer. She is currently a stay-home mom, wife, and artist.